The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission has directed the state director general of police to register an FIR against more than 15 Pune police officers over the alleged illegal detention and assault of eight minors in a murder case. The officers named in the directive reportedly include the Pune police commissioner and a constable.
The commission said the minors were allegedly kept in illegal custody at a police station for five days and assaulted after being paraded in public. Some of the minors had surrendered before the police in connection with the murder case. When a family member challenged their detention, the minors were produced before the juvenile justice board, according to the report.
The commission has also recommended invoking provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the officers concerned because four of the minors belonged to SC or ST communities. The directive follows a fact-finding inquiry ordered by the commission into the incident.
MSHRC chairperson Justice (retd) A M Badar and members Justice (retd) Swapna Joshi and IPS (retd) Sanjay Kumar directed that both parts of the fact-finding report, along with its annexures, be treated as the FIR under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The commission also called for the consequential investigation to be completed expeditiously.
The fact-finding team included Datta Karale, a special inspector general of police; Vijay Kedar, the commission’s registrar; and Viswas Pandhare, a superintendent of police posted at the commission. The team recorded statements from affected parties, examined the location and reviewed CCTV footage and the police case diary.
The commission’s findings concluded that human rights violations had been committed, including the alleged illegal custody and public parading of the minors. The order places the next procedural responsibility with the state police leadership, which has been directed to register the case and oversee the subsequent investigation.
A senior Pune police officer declined to comment, saying that he had not seen the commission’s order. The report did not include a response from the officers named in the directive or details of any action taken against them beyond the commission’s recommendations.
